Rob Manfred wipes the sweat from his brow and groans.
They’ve been hiking for over two weeks now, through forest and farm and field, on the most important mission of his career, hoping to assemble a crack team capable of handling the crisis his sport faces. He furrows his brow, inspecting the carpet of pine needles exposed below a dusting of frost and snow.
“Read me the message again, Jerry.”
The Mariners general manager chuckles as he reaches into his fanny pack. He rummages past a wealth of assorted protein bites before unearthing the wrinkled parchment.